If you're looking for a well-thought-out, well-structured blog entry, this isn't it. I'm just going to type out whatever comes to mind, and that will be that. Warning: This may turn into a giant wall of text.
Books: Borders is going out of business. This is probably not news to anyone, but it has been both a happy and a sad time for me. I always liked going in to browse through the books, almost never buying anything, not because I didn't want to, but because I didn't have the extra money. Now, with the going out of business sale, and starting with when I won a Borders gift card soon after they announced that they were going out of business, I have used their misfortune as an excuse to spend money on books. Sure, some of them are "fun" books, but those are usually for my wife. Most of the books that I've gotten have to do with my hobby of learning a new technology or programming language. One excursion that my wife made, though, ended up with her buying me a book from the Animorphs series, which was my favorite series in middle school. It's one of the several that I never got around to reading. I look forward to when I have a chance to read it.
Technology: The programming/technology books that I got lean heavily toward web technologies. The first one that I got was a tutorial book for Django, a web extension for Python. I got it because one of the most recent languages that I've been teaching myself is Python, and I wanted to see what I could do with it and the web. So far, it looks pretty powerful, though the book doesn't really go that in-depth. I can see myself using it in the future, though.
The second one is an intro to HTML5. I do know a bit about HTML, so I wanted to learn about the cool stuff that HTML5 can do, since there's been a big hype about it for a while. It, too, lacks a lot of depth, but it does a bit to wet my appetite, so I guess it's okay. I may use it to see if there's something that I want to do that HTML5 can do more smoothly than how I would do it with HTML4.
Book 3 is about XMPP, and it's my most recent purchase. It looks like it does go a bit more in-depth, and one of the more advanced chapters ties it in with Django, so that will be fun once I get to it. XMPP is used in things like multiplayer games, instant messaging programs and chats. I'm not sure how I'll use it, but I'd seen it on several trips to Borders, and it seemed to be calling to me.
What I was really looking for each of those 3 times was an intro to Android programming. I got a book from the library about Android programming from the library not too long ago, so I wanted to get one for myself. Alas, it was not to be. I found plenty of books on iPhone development and plenty of user guides/manuals for Android devices, but nothing about Android development. Fortunately, though, just today I found what looks like it will probably be a promising tutorial online.
Library: Today, I went to the library, because my wife had several books to turn in, a hold to pick up, and she had an activity to go to that would last until after the library was closed. So I went by myself to turn in her books, pick up her hold, and maybe find a book or two for myself. First, I lightened my load by turning in her books. Then, I set about finding some books for myself. The Android book was checked out. I decided to put a hold on a different Android book. I also got several books by an author that my wife really likes, but that I haven't read yet (Piers Anthony). I had noticed that my wife hadn't given me her library card like she was going to (It's easy to forget when you're rushing off somewhere), but I thought I'd give it a try anyway. I got the attention of a librarian, told her that my wife had sent me to turn in her books and pick up her hold, but that she had forgotten to give me her card. She understood perfectly, and given that we (my wife and I, not the librarian and I) have the same last name and live at the same address, the librarian was willing to make it possible for me to check out the book. I'm sure glad I asked!
Certificate: Today, I got a message from my folks that an envelope came from my grad school. They thought it might be my diploma, but I had already picked that up from the school. I called them and told them to go ahead and open it, thinking it was something from the photographer at graduation or something. It turns out that it was a certificate for a translation exam that I took near the end of the year. Since I passed the exam, I get a certificate... saying that I passed the exam. So now I have my diploma, as well as a certificate proclaiming that I'm recognized as a competent Spanish-to-English translator.
Plant: Near the end of July, my grandfather passed away. He was my last living grandparent, and since we share a birthday, there was no way that I was going to miss his funeral. When I got back from the funeral, I'd found that the company that I work for had gotten my a small potted plant (A fittonia, or nerve plant). This last three-day weekend left its soil pretty dry, and it was really limp--it almost looked dead. I watered it, and by the early afternoon, it was as happy and perky as ever!
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There. Wall of text. Enjoy.
